Cassandra Jones: who is Dizzee Rascal’s ex-fiancee, how did he assault her, what did he do when found guilty?

British rapper Dizzee Rascal, has been given a restraining order, curfew and will have to wear an electronic tag for attacking his ex-fiancee Cassandra Jones at a house in south London last year.

The 37-year-old grim artist, whose real name is Dylan Mills, was sentenced at London’s Croydon Magistrates’ Court on Friday (8 April). The incident occured during a row with his former partner over child contact and finances.

He had been found guilty of assaulting Jones by pressing his forehead against hers and pushing her to the ground during a “chaotic” row at a residential property in Streatham, south London, on 8 June 2021.

The artist, who had recently been made an MBE in 2020 for his contributions to the music industry, was “frustrated” over custody arrangements and the pair had an argument when he dropped off their daughter at the property.

District judge Polly Gledhill told Mills she wanted him to work on how he thinks and behaves as he “lost his temper and used violence”. After reading pre-sentence reports, she told Mills that he had shown “no remorse for this matter” and “you continue to place the blame on Ms Jones – the victim in this case”.

There was no response from Mills as he sat in the dock, dressed in green bomber jacket, white top and black jeans, as he was sentenced

He was given a community order with a 24-week curfew and told he must wear an electronic tag. He was also given a 12-month restraining order after the judge said she was “satisfied” it was a “necessary and proportionate” measure.

Who is Cassandra Jones?

Cassandra Jones is the ex-fiancee of rapper Dizzee Rascal. Not much is known about Jones, who has two children with Rascal, one son and one daughter.

Jone and Rascal split in February 2021, with Jones telling the Wimbledon Magistrates’ Court that she left the rapper “because of domestic abuse”.

Jones said: “[Rascal] said “I cannot understand why you left me” and I said, “I left you because of domestic abuse”.”

What has Dizzee Rascal been convicted of?

The grime artist has been found guilty of assaulting Jones during a “chaotic” row at a property in Streatham, south London, on 8 June last year.

The court heard that Rascal was “frustrated” over custody arrangements, and that he and Jones had an argument when he dropped off their daughter at the property.

Rascal was said to have “barged” into the home, banged his head on a fridge three times while holding his son and began “screaming and shouting” at Jones and her mother, Dawn Kirk.

The court heard that Rascal approached Jones and “put his forehead against hers and pushed her around the room” and then “pushed her to the ground”.

The shouting became so loud that two neighbours were alerted, and the police were called. Rascal was arrested at the scene on suspicion of common assault before being released on bail.

At the time, Metropolitan Police said: “Officers attended and a woman reported minor injuries. She did not require hospital treatment.”

A judge was told how when police arrived, Rascal said “I’m the aggressor”, but later gave a prepared statement in a police interview, denying the allegations and claimed he had been assaulted by Jones.

In his first police statement, read out in court, Rascal said: “I did not push Cassandra to the floor. I did not push her forehead with my forehead. In fact, she assaulted me by pushing me and scratching my arm.”

Delivering her verdict, District Judge Polly Gledhill said: “I am satisfied so that I am sure that on June 8 that Mr Mills, on returning home with the child late, lost his temper in an argument over child contact and finances.”

She added that Rascal was “abusive and aggressive” and “assaulted [Jones] as outlined by the Crown”.

Rascal, who was charged on 2 August last year, will be sentenced for assault on 8 April at Croydon Magistrates’ Court.

What happened after the guilty verdict?

Moments after being found guilty of assaulting Jones, Rascal threw a photographer’s camera across the road outside Wimbledon Magistrates’ Court.

PA news agency photographer James Manning said: “He came out of the court, I was taking his picture, just standing still on the corner.

“He then pushed my camera into my face, which then caused it to fall to the floor, at which point he then picked it up and then threw it across the road.

“It smashed into a lot of pieces.

“He was angry, he came straight out of the door, didn’t say anything, didn’t say anything until the point at which he pushed my camera.

“I think he said something like ‘get away’ or ‘get out of my face’ or something along those lines.

“After that he just walked off and I didn’t chase after him or anything like that.”

What has Cassandra Jones said?

Speaking after the verdict, Jones said that “wealth and status” should not be allowed to silence women.

She said: “The verdict today has brought me no joy, but it does help me to look back on what I experienced and have it recognised by the courts as assault.

“[Rascal] and I were together for a long time, and I loved him very much. He is the father of our two children.”

She added: “I have been receiving support from specialist domestic abuse services since last year, and that has helped me process my experiences and move forward.

“None of this has been easy. I understand why so many women drop out of the criminal justice system; this has been really traumatic for me. But I am lucky enough to have had support from the police, my family and friends, and specialist organisations.

“This verdict today shows that wealth and status cannot be used to silence women. One in four women in England and Wales will experience domestic abuse at some point in their lifetime. I now ask for privacy to rebuild and reset.

“I hope I can now move on with my life.”

She urged any other affected by domestic violence to contact the national domestic abuse helpline on 0808 2000 247.

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